• Kenya nears completion of delayed 70-km Ngong-Suswa highway project
  
  
• New route aims to ease major corridor congestion and boost local economy
  
  
• Government shifts to PPPs as infrastructure financing faces fiscal constraints

Kenya is close to completing the 70-kilometre Ngong-Suswa highway after years of delays caused by funding shortfalls. The road was launched in 2018 and was initially contracted to take 42 months.

The 4-billion-shilling ($31 million) road links Nairobi to Ngong, southwest of the capital, and continues onward to Suswa. It is intended to serve as a strategic alternative route to ease traffic on the busy Nairobi-Mai Mahiu and Narok roads, a corridor often clogged with heavy truck and passenger traffic, leading to frequent congestion and accidents.

The Ngong–Suswa Road nears completion, set to ease pressure on the busy Mai Mahiu Escarpment Road while providing travellers with a modern, safer, and more efficient corridor via Ngong.#SeamlessConnectivity | #DeliveringThePromise | #TuvukeSalama
|| Photos Courtesy|| pic.twitter.com/abTpBlGSbE

— State Department For Roads (@Roads_KE) December 3, 2025

Authorities say the new route will sharply cut congestion on a key logistics corridor for domestic and regional trade. The road is also expected to spur economic activity in trade, tourism and local development.

Ngong-Suswa was among the priority road projects identified by the government. To speed up their completion, the authorities had previously announced plans to issue sovereign bonds to clear arrears owed to road contractors.

Amid weak tax revenues and rising public debt, however, the government is now shifting toward public-private partnerships (PPPs) to finance infrastructure. The model has become central to developing major new projects such as the planned expansion of the Gilgil-Nakuru-Mau Summit section (94 km) of the Northern Corridor, where construction began last week.

To lower its long-term dependence on external borrowing and build stable financing sources, the government plans to establish a National Infrastructure Fund and a Sovereign Fund to attract more private capital for major public projects.

Henoc Dossa